New studies have found that devoting a small percentage of U.S. farmland to producing solar power would benefit both the country’s energy system and its farmers.
Currently, about 46,000 square miles of farmland – about the area of Pennsylvania – is being used to grow corn to make ethanol. One study looked at the impact of using some of this land for solar power instead of corn ethanol.
Not much of all this farmland is close enough to electrical transmission lines to be practical for utility solar power. In fact, only about 1,500 square miles fits the bill. But if even this small fraction of the corn growing land was used instead for solar power, it would generate as much energy each year than from all of the farms growing corn for fuel.
Solar installations on farms are helpful for farmers as well. The land beneath the panels can be used to grow wildflowers that attracts the bees, wasps, and other insects needed to pollinate crops in the nearby fields. In addition, the solar arrays provide a steady income stream for farmers.
In some places, farmers can earn substantially more from leasing their land for solar than from growing crops. But a study of farms in California suggests that the best option is to do both. Farmers who both grow crops and host solar arrays can have more financial security than those who do just one or the other. The income from solar arrays is pretty predictable and is paid throughout the year. Income from crops can drop off from, for example, a seasonal drought, or from extreme weather events.
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To Help Growers and the Grid, Build Solar on Farmland, Research Says
Photo, posted June 9, 2016, courtesy of Matt Lavin via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
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